Earth Science Lesson Plans
The Hadean

Notes for the leader/teacher for the Earth Science Lesson Plans The Hadean:

As you tell these stories, give just a simple picture of the main characteristics of the Era to spark the imagination of the students. By not giving too much detail, students have the opportunity to think and express their own ideas. Then, to learn what the Era was truly like, they will be inspired to do their research and have their own learning. Dialogue is included in bold and italics. Things you would do during the lesson are in CAPITAL LETTERS.

Prerequisites for The Earth Science Lesson Plans The Hadean: Clock of Eras introduction

Materials for The Earth Science Lesson Plans The Hadean:

A clock of eras chart.Click here for a printable version.
A blank or non-colored chart Click here for a printable version
Loose pieces for each of the Eras (You’ll only use the first section in this lesson: The Hadean)
An arrow to use as the hand on the Clock of Eras
(Optional: A large, black poster board or construction paper to use as a background.)
Templates for student follow-up

Presentation of The Earth Science Lesson Plans The Hadean:

Review the Introduction Lesson (SHOW THE COLORED CLOCK OF ERAS) Remember this clock? It is called the Clock of Eras. It measures time that has passed since the earth was formed. (SHOW THE ARROW FOR THE ERA HAND) Just like the hands of a standard clock we have a hand for our Clock of Eras. This hand measures the Eras.
The Hadean Time (REMOVE THE COLORED CLOCK OF ERAS) Today we are going to learn about the first period: The Hadean Time. (OPTIONAL: AT THIS POINT IN THE LESSON, PLACE A PIECE OF LARGE BLACK CONSTRUCTION PAPER OR POSTER BOARD TO USE AS AN IMPRESSION OF THE DARKNESS BEFORE THE LIGHT OF THE “BIG BANG.”)
No one really knows what caused the Earth to form. But humans have wondered about it for a very long time. Many legends and myths tell stories of how the Earth came to be. This is the story told by the rocks….Before the moment of creation there was nothing. It was dark—darker than the darkest cave. There was no light at all. It was the coldest cold, for there was no heat. Suddenly the energy of creation came forth. Now there was heat and light. Now there were gases and dust particles. Now all the elements were just right for building planet Earth.
(SHOW THE BLANK-NON-COLORED-CLOCK. IF YOU USED THE BLACK PAPER, PLACE THE CLOCK ON TOP OF THE BLACK PAPER.)
This is called the Hadean time. This section of our clock is colored black because there was no light. The Laws of Nature were at work. Elements were attracted to each other and great collisions occurred. The elements that would be our sun came together with such force that light and heat were created. The light and heat still blazes today. Different dust particles and gases swirled around and away from the new sun star. They collided too, but with less force and heat because they were so far away from the sun.
These collisions became meteorites and tiny, baby planets. The dust and gases formed hot liquid as they cooled. One special planet was a perfect distance from the sun. As it cooled, a crust formed around the hot liquid center. The liquid center moved around under the crust. It made cracks in the crust and the hot liquid shot out. The ash and lava that came out built rocky cone shapes. The crust got thicker and thicker. These are the oldest rocks on the planet. They made the first layer of the crust. There are not many places where these rocks exist today, because most of them got buried so deep in the crust that they melted back into the liquid center. These rocks tell us that the planet is billions of years old. The volcanoes had another important job. They filled the atmosphere around the baby planet with cloud-forming dust. Rain from the clouds fell everywhere. Water collected on the surface. This formed the oceans. There was no life on the little planet during the Hadean time. But the growing crust and the rain were making a place for life to begin. On the Clock of Eras the Hadean time is colored black also because there is no life on Earth.

Follow up for the Earth Science Lesson Plans The Hadean:

Volcano Model for demonstration (Click for write-up.)
Using black construction paper as a background, have students draw their interpretation of the Hadean Time using chalk, light-colored pencils, glitter, colored paper pieces, etc.
Have books available for students to read about the Hadean Time.

Done with the Earth Science Lesson Plans The Hadean? The next lesson is the Archaean

Want to see what comes before the The Earth Science Lesson Plans The Hadean? Click here

Check out some of the Educational Materials for sale on our sister site fossilicious.com.

Children's Books on Fossils and Geologic Time

Fossil Collections

Share this page:

What’s this?

Facebook Twitter

Enjoy this page? Please pay it forward. Here's how...

Would you prefer to share this page with others by linking to it?

Click on the HTML link code below.
Copy and paste it, adding a note of your own, into your blog, a Web page, forums, a blog comment, your Facebook account, or anywhere that someone would find this page valuable.